Has it already been ten minutes since I separated from Aira?
With no clues about the enemy’s location, I’ve been running around the temple’s vicinity.
The evening twilight envelops the sky. The sun has set, and the faint outline of the white moon has begun to appear.
"Hah… hah… ugh… hah…!"
Compared to the boys on the soccer and basketball teams who train hard every day, I don’t have much confidence in my stamina. It’s too late to regret not exercising more earlier.
As darkness falls, crows begin to caw, and the smell of dinner wafts from the nearby houses.
The abnormal next to the ordinary. Perhaps, despite my lack of awareness, abnormalities were always happening close by.
As I get more exhausted, my ability to focus and stay alert is also fading.
It's no good -- I can't find them at all.
…… The frustration is overwhelming.
While I’m searching for the enemy whose whereabouts are unknown, Aira continues to fend off the attacks from those children.
Ashkelon is probably not being used to its full potential, with Aira barely managing to block the knives.
Trusting that I will definitely locate the enemy and the criminal.
Fighting back the tears that threaten to fall, I keep running.
"Where are you… Damn it!"
I can’t do anything until I find the caster.
No matter how long she handles these manipulated children, Aira will just keep getting injured more and more.
"Come out…you sneaky bastard――!"
I don't even know who I'm shouting at.
I wipe the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and scratch my scalp with my nails.
It’s a moment when I acutely feel my own powerlessness. What good are special abilities if they’re useless? I can’t help anyone.
"Damn it…! Huff… huff…!"
I want to hurl curses at the world government of Ivral for creating this situation.
Shit, shit, shit—!
I turn the corner at a speed that’s hardly faster than walking.
I end up at the back of the temple, a spot I’ve probably checked two or three times already.
Surrounded by wild, unkempt grass and the musty scent of the undergrowth, I finally crumple to my knees
"—Hee hee hee"
At that moment.
From somewhere, I heard a voice laughing at me.
I looked around. I surveyed the area 360 degrees, making sure not to miss anything.
…There’s no one here.
Was it merely a figment of my imagination…?
"What a pity…" said a voice. "Harima Yuki-kun."
"…!? Y-You…!?"
However, out of nowhere, a girl appeared right before me where there was no one.
She was of a small stature, probably around middle school age in this world.
She wore a sleek, jet-black bodysuit that snugly covered her entire body, meant to blend into the shadows.
As a result, the outlines of her reasonably ample breasts, slender waist, and the curves from her thighs to calves were all visible.
Her serene voice contrasted with her youthful face, and her long, bright pink hair was styled into twin tails.
She was holding a pink candy in one hand and was licking it with her delicate tongue.
――There was no doubt.
—This is the culprit who controlled the children to assault Aira and me.
"Y-You…! You’re…!"
"Well, calm down. Let me give you a reward for your efforts and tell you my name first."
The dark-clad girl moved closer to me without making any noise while I was sitting.
Her appearance was like that of a ghost.
"Here we go--... giggle..."
She crouched beside me and brought her lips close to my ear.
I was being thoroughly underestimated. But at that moment, I had neither the will nor the strength to resist.
Nuchu-.
A lewd sound accompanied the opening of the girl’s lips, and a seductive breath brushed against me.
"――My name is Livia. Livia Betagard, Yuki-kun."
Livia Betagard.
All the slight doubts I had in my conviction were blown away.
She is undoubtedly an extremely dangerous criminal forcibly exiled from the other world Ivral, and a participant in the Battle of the Defiled Land. She is the one manipulating the children.
"How do you know… my name…?"
"Well, you’re the Referee, aren’t you? I’ve heard at least that much. As the shabby connection between Ivral and the Defiled Land, it’s your job to approve and oversee our battles and to supply magical energy to the participants when it runs out. Isn’t that your job?"
"――…?!"
My brain can’t keep up. I am indeed the referee who approves and observes Aira and the others’ battles... Up to this point, that’s clearly the role of the Referee.
――But replenishing magical power?
Am I also responsible for supplying the participants with magical power?
"Indeed. It’s only natural. Only divine level-quality semen like Yuki-kun's will do. I couldn’t possibly get magical power from those filthy biological humans from the Defiled Land."
Livia Betagardl keeps saying things I don’t understand.
Seemingly satisfied, she slowly stands up, her chest bouncing slightly, and looks down at me with her pink eyes.
"Well then♪"
A short sword gracefully appears in Livias hand.
She lightly cuts her index finger with the knife and lets the blood be absorbed, causing Livia’s body to gradually become transparent.
No, she’s melting into the shadows.
Is this Livia’s ability, her magic?
Just before she became invisible, Livia placed a hand on her black waist and said,
"It seems we’re about to achieve our objective, doesn’t it? Hehe... Are you alright, Yuki-kun? — Not planning to report my location to Quatronix?"
"……Ugh……!?"
"Hehe, ahaha――♪ Slurp, lick――… Mmm, tasty♪"
Just as Livia’s figure became entirely invisible, my heart pounded heavily.
How long will I continue to fall apart like this…!
Right. I have to notify Aira of her location soon, just as that person said.
I get up. But immediately, my knees give way and I collapse to the ground.
Fighting the urge to stay on the ground, I force myself to rise once more.
"Nngh… ngh…! Haa… haa… Aira…!"
Thankfully, I was near the temple’s entrance.
Dragging my body, which feels like it’s on the brink of collapse from running around, I head towards Aira.
"Damn it…!"
The fact that so much time has passed weighs heavily on me.
With the taste of blood in my mouth, I desperately wish for her to be safe.
A helpless creature can do nothing but pray.
Before long, I reach the front of the temple, a small, dirty park.
――Drip, sweat falls onto the asphalt.
Then, before my eyes, the Battlefield appeared――.
"……Aira……?”
It was more a scene of carnage than a Battlefield.
I couldn’t make a sound.
To put it bluntly, Aira Verfane Quatronix was not standing.
The word's objective achieved, which Livia had muttered earlier, flashed through my mind.
No way, is this really happening?
Surrounding Aira, who has collapsed on her back on the ground and dropped her beloved sword Ashkelon, are six children with knives…….
"――Squish, squish,"
Two of the children’s knives cut through the skin effortlessly, digging into the flesh beneath.
――Splurt, gush, squish
This act is repeated, turning the once ordinary scene into a disturbing red.
On her voluptuous chest, fragile shoulders, and sleek upper arms.
The frenzy stabs and digs in.
The children were laughing.
With extreme amusement, they continued to assault the helpless Aira――
"A…… A……”
It didn’t work.
I didn’t make it in time.
Have we lost?
Is it my fault……?
No…… it’s not over yet, don't give up.
――Kaaah!
I channel mental energy into both hands, preparing to activate telekinesis.
And then―― I――!
"――Just keep the enemy immobilized."
I heard someone's voice.
A delicate, dark wind swept by my side and rushed into the site of the carnage.
Though their running is somewhat awkward, perhaps due to a lack of athletic ability, the courage residing in their small back is quite significant.
Wearing a robe similar to that of a magician or seer, she makes contact with the bodies of the knife-wielding children one by one.
There were magic circles or something similar expanding from their hands.
Who exactly is that child――?
Due to their actions, once all the children’s movements――or rather, their activities stopped, the dark-haired girl sat right next to the blood-stained Aira, holding her hands up.
She’s not an enemy……? But, could she really be an ally?
I made my way to where Aira and the girl were, though I arrived quite late.
"Hah……hah……hah――"
――The dark-haired girl was desperately using a magic circle to heal Aira’s wounds.
In an instant, the hood of her robe fell away, revealing the girl’s dark, long hair.
Her dark eyes, as if pitying the entire world, gazed at Aira, and clear sweat trickled down her pale cheeks.
Despite the robe concealing her body, her chest still showed a noticeable bulge.
"W-who are you……?"
In response to my question, the girl let out a surprised "Ah" and turned towards me politely.
Seeing her head-on, her beauty as a young girl becomes even more striking.
The girl's face uniquely combines a pure, innocent childlike vibe with a comforting, queen-like presence that implies a comprehensive understanding of worldly truths.
Her dark eyes seem to carry a sense of guilt for simply being alive, paired with her snow-white skin.
A portion of her dark hair is adorned with a black star-shaped hair clip.
"Ah, yes… I-I’m sorry. My name is Rain Margarett... I am definitely not an enemy of Aira-san or Yuki-san."
As Rain Margarett introduced herself, her eyes were so moist that my own reflection in them seemed slightly beautified.
Before I knew it, the stab wounds and bloodstains had vanished from Aira’s body.
Covered in a blouse with many harsh tears, Aira’s large chest was noticeably rising and falling.
Chapter length 4364 characters.
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